1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to the field of telecommunication services. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an automated system and method for providing high availability services across multiple autonomous systems.
2. Background Information
An autonomous system is a network or group of networks which is under the control of a single administrative entity. For example, an autonomous system may be a system controlled by a communications carrier. Autonomous systems are typically interconnected by way of interconnect points. Creating a redundant path in a single autonomous system typically involves retrieving the state of the system, selecting an initial path through the system, inputting parameters which dictate the end state operation of the redundant path, determining redundant paths for comparison, evaluating the potential paths, and choosing the appropriate path.
Critical services and applications, such as Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) and video services, require a communication path with high availability, and sometimes require that a communication path be formed across multiple autonomous systems. Creating a redundant path across multiple autonomous systems is difficult because the information necessary to select a redundant path through one autonomous system is typically not accessible to another autonomous system and not likely to be easily obtained through normal channels. Further, carriers are reluctant to allow other carriers or customers to have visibility into their networks, as visibility can yield competitive advantages, security vulnerability, and access to internal architectures. Therefore, when a first carrier requires a communication path through a second carrier's network, negotiation is required between the carriers. However, this negotiation is typically a lengthy process, which may take days or even weeks.